VARANASI, Jan. 17 -- Congress leaders in Varanasi on Friday demanded a thorough probe into the allegation made by some local people about damage to artefacts associated with Ahilyabai Holkar and removal of her statue from a small shrine on a platform at Manikarnika Ghat during ongoing renovation work here last Saturday. Varanasi Congress leaders submitted a memorandum at the district magistrate's office in this connection on Friday. Denying the allegation, district magistrate Satyendra Kumar said, "No temple was damaged at Manikarnika Ghat. Renovation work of the Manikarnika Ghat is being done to equip it with state-of-the-art facilities. Idols and artefacts found at a platform on Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi will be preserved. The idols will be installed after the construction work is completed." The Manikarnika Ghat is among the oldest and most sacred cremation grounds for Hindus. After a video clip of the statue of Ahilyabai and artefacts apparently lying amid rubble surfaced on social media, Pal community members staged a protest on Wednesday. Led by the party's city unit president Raghavendra Chaubey, Congress leaders said, "We demand that the truth of the entire incident should be brought before the public." "The party has warned that if action is not taken within a week, it will be forced to begin a hunger strike," the leaders added. The party's state spokesperson Sanjeev Singh said that the administration should investigate the entire matter with transparency. "If our heritage is not protected, the Congress will not remain silent; the movement will be intensified," he said. The district magistrate said the statue and artefacts found at a platform of Manikarnika Ghat have been preserved. "No temple was damaged at Manikarnika Ghat. The idols will be installed after the renovation work of Manikarnika Ghat is completed," he added. The DM said work is being carried out at Manikarnika Ghat under a redevelopment and renovation plan in which two community toilets, a green area, 38 cremation platforms, pollution-free chimneys, a registration room, a wood storage area, and a waiting room are being constructed at the ghat. "Some idols and artefacts were found during the excavation. These have been preserved and kept in the department of culture. The idols will be installed after the construction work on the ghat is completed," the DM reiterated....